The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. Some current automobiles are equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems (“TPMS”) that indicate to a driver vehicle tire(s) having a pressure that has decreased below a predetermined pressure. Furthermore, some current automobiles are equipped with a navigation system that displays a map to a vehicle driver of the roadways currently surrounding the vehicle location.
A limitation of current TPMS and navigation systems is that such systems are separate systems within a vehicle and do not communicate or interact with each other. Another limitation is that current TPMS do not indicate to a driver the current tire pressure nor do they recommend the optimal tire pressure or the tire manufacturer's recommended tire inflation pressure. Another limitation is that current TPMS and navigation systems do not indicate or display to the driver the new estimated miles per gallon (“mpg”) based on the optimal or tire manufacturer's recommended tire pressure if the tires were inflated as such. Another limitation is that current TPMS and navigation systems do not calculate the amount of carbon dioxide or CO2 that could be reduced per mile, if the optimal or recommended tire pressure were utilized.
Still yet, current TPMS and navigation systems do not calculate and indicate to a vehicle driver the amount of gas that will be consumed on a trip given the current vehicle conditions, environmental conditions, and road route anticipated, as entered into the vehicle navigation system. Furthermore, current TPMS and navigation systems will not recommend alternative routes based upon the current vehicle conditions and the prevailing environmental conditions of various potential routes as recommended by the navigation system. Moreover, current TPMS and navigation systems do not permit a user to select from a list of potential changes in vehicle conditions, environmental conditions, or various road routes and see a calculated list of vehicle gasoline use and vehicle CO2 output based on the different possible combinations, even selected combinations, of such vehicle conditions, environmental conditions and various road routes.